


As The Years Go By

by SilverStorm0



Series: Avery Nightshade, Son of Artemis [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Artemis has a kid, Fluff, Gen, It makes sense I swear, SO MUCH FLUFF, and she's raising him like the responsible mother she can be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverStorm0/pseuds/SilverStorm0
Summary: This was never meant to be a series. But here I am again, up loading this at midnight. Again.If you're confused about why this exists, please see Part 1.
Series: Avery Nightshade, Son of Artemis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595761
Kudos: 8





	As The Years Go By

**Author's Note:**

> This was never meant to be a series. But here I am again, up loading this at midnight. Again.
> 
> If you're confused about why this exists, please see Part 1.

Artemis watched over her toddler son as he picked up the tiny bow, all wide-eyed excitement and awe.

Avery giggled, then drew it back in a clumsy imitation of the Hunters practicing by them.

"No," she rebuked him, making sure the string didn't slip. "Don't shoot a bow without an arrow, it's bad for it."

He looked up at her, clearly upset that she wouldn't let him play.

Artemis sighed, then picked up her own bow.

"Like this."

She drew an arrow and notched it. "See the three feathers? Make sure that one it pointing out."

Avery picked up one of his own arrows and, after a few clearly frustrated seconds of messing with it, he notched it. He looked up in exuberance, holding the bow and arrow up for her to see.

"Very good. Now, stand like this." Artemis put her left foot forward -- Avery was left-handed, after all -- and straightened her back. She lifted the bow, drawing the arrow in the process. "Make sure your shoulders and arm make a straight line. And then release."

She let go, and her arrow flew true, hitting the bullseye.

Avery tried to copy her. He stepped next to where she was, left foot out but not really pointed towards the target. Raising the bow, it took a few tries to draw it most of the way.

He fired, and the arrow made it partway to the target. He looked up at her, teary-eyed and about to cry.

"Now, now." Artemis knelt down and patted her son's auburn hair, so much like her own. "That was very good. How about you try again?"

Avery sniffled, but nodded and tried again.

Thalia, watching over the practice range, stepped close to Artemis and asked, "My lady, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course. His arrows are blunt, they won't hurt him."

"That's not what I meant."

"I can't have my son not knowing archery, Thalia."

"...of course, my lady."

A young, but no longer toddler, Avery Nightshade looked up at his mother, clearly excited.

"Here." She handed him a sheathed knife. "I'm going to teach you how to skin and butcher a rabbit."

"Okay momma!" Avery beamed, taking the knife and opening the snap that kept it in the leather sheath.

"It's very sharp, so be careful," she warned him. "Steel can't harm me, but it can harm you."

"I'll be careful," he said seriously, then stood on his tip-toes to set the knife on the table and stepped up on the stool.

Thalia stood off to the side, shaking her head in exasperation.

"You have to learn this, Avery," a mildly irritated Artemis said, looking sternly at her son. He pouted, not meeting her eye.

"No I don't! I'm never going to use this stuff out in the wilderness."

Artemis sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If you don't do it, I'm going to confiscate your weapons, Avery."

Avery gasped. "You wouldn't!"

Artemis stared at him, daring him to say something else.

He pouted more, then grumpily went back to the algebra worksheet.

Older still, Avery followed Thalia as they stalked their prey. He wasn't nearly as agile or skilled as the Hunters, and it was quite hard. But he was determined to keep up. His mother was watching, after all, and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"We'll be arriving at Camp Half-Blood tomorrow," Artemis told her son.

"Of course, mother."

"You know what to expect, yes?"

"Yeah. They'll be surprised, prepare for hazing, don't let them get to me, make friends."

"You won't see me very often."

"I know."

"...do you know why I wish for you to go to Camp Half-Blood?"

"No, you never told me."

"Choice. All of my Hunters chose to join the Hunt. I wish for you to be able to choose what you want as well."

Avery blinked, eyes shiny, and Artemis hugged her son. He was taller than her preferred form, now, and it felt like just yesterday that she had made him.

She backed away. "Very well. Go prepare your things, just is case."

Avery nodded, ducking out of her tent.

Chiron had lived for thousands of years, so he'd seen quite a lot of things. The rise and fall of countless heroes, wars, peacetimes. He's seen the world on the brink of devastation far too many times.

He came to expect the unexpected.

But watching the entire demigod population of Camp Half-Blood -- Roman transfer camper contingent included -- in a chaotic uproar as Artemis announced that she was leaving her son there?

That was a new one.


End file.
